ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE

MACHINING
ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE MACHINING

•EDM, is a process that is used to remove metal

through the action of an electrical discharge of
short duration and high current density
between the tool or wire and the workpiece.
 MECHANICS OF EDM

•EDM spark erosion is the

same as having an
electrical short that
burns a small hole in a
piece of metal it contacts
USE OF EDM

•EDM has made it relatively simple to machine

intricate shapes that would be impossible to
produce with conventional cutting tools. It is used
extensively in the plastics industry to produce
cavities of almost any shape in the steel molds.
PRINCIPLE OF EDM

• Basic elements of an electrical discharge

system.
 THE EDM PROCESS CAN BE USED IN TWO
DIFFERENT WAYS:
• 2. A continuous-travelling
• 1. A preshaped or formed vertical-wire electrode
electrode (tool), usually made
from graphite or copper.
ADVANTAGES

 Tolerances of +/- 0.005 can be achieved

 Material hardness does not effect process
 Cutting complex shapes and thin walled configurations
without distortion
 EDM is a no-contact and no-force process,
 The EDM process leaves no burrs
DISADVANTAGES

 Only able to machine conductive materials

 More expensive process than conventional milling
or turning
EDM Circuits and
Operating Principles
Electrical Discharge
Machining
THE PRINCIPLE OF WORKING OF
EDM IS BASED ON THE EROSION
OF THE MATERIAL BY REPETITIVE
SPARKS BETWEEN THE WORKPIECE
AND THE TOOL SUBMERGED IN A
BATH OF THE DIELECTRIC MEDIUM
Examples

MAIN COMPONENTS IN EDM:

• ELECTRIC POWER SUPPLY

• DIELECTRIC MEDIUM
• WORK PIECE AND TOOL
• SERVO CONTROL UNIT
The Working principle of
EDM
 RECTIFIER
 CURRENT CONTROL
 SERVO CONTROL
 MOVABLE ELECTRODE
 DIELECTRIC FLUID
In Process
 Types of EDM
DIE SINKING EDM - DIE SINK OCCURS WHEN
BOTH THE ELECTRODE TOOLING WORKPIECE IS
SUBMERGED IN LIGHT OIL ACTING AS AN INSULATOR
WHERE THE CONSTANTLY RUNNING DIELECTRIC FLUID
ALLOWS THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WORKPIECE TO BE
MAINTAINED.
Types of EDM
WIRE EDM - USES A METALLIC WIRE
(ELECTRODE) TO CUT A PROGRAMMED CONTOUR IN A
WORKPIECE. EXTRUSION DIES AND BLANKING
PUNCHES ARE VERY OFTEN MACHINED BY WIRE
CUTTING. IN THE MACHINING AREA, EACH
DISCHARGE CREATES A CRATER IN THE WORKPIECE
(MATERIAL REMOVAL) AND AN IMPACT ON THE TOOL
Types of EDM
HOLE DRILLING EDM - USES AN
ENERGIZED ROTATING TUBE ELECTRODE WITH HIGH
PRESSURE FLUSHING TO PRODUCE FAST AND
ACCURATE MACHINING OF SMALL DEEP HOLES IN
CONDUCTIVE METALS.
SURFACE FINISHING AND
MACHINING ACCURACY
OF EDM
SURFACE FINISHING
SURFACE FINISH ACHIEVABLE WITH EDM

• An EDM surface finish (aka electrical discharge machining)

is different to that produced by conventional machining.
Cutting processes produce a finish with directionality. This
is determined by the movement of the cutting tool. At the
microscopic level even ground surfaces have evidence of
this “lay”, and it affects how a product performs.
LAY PATTERNS
EROSION RATHER THAN CUTTING

• Electrical discharge machining works by creating arcs of

electricity between the tool and workpiece. As each arc
touches the workpiece intense heat and pressure
vaporizes material and blasts it from the surface, leaving
behind a small pit.
EDM FINISH BENEFITS AND
REQUIREMENTS

• EDM is unaffected by material hardness. This means a

range of exceptionally hard and tough materials are
machinable. The only requirement is that they be
electrically conductive.
EDM FINISH QUALITY

• As with conventional metal cutting, surface

roughness is inversely proportional to cutting
power and speed. In other words, the key to
achieving better EDM finish quality is to cut
slower.
MACHINING ACCURACY
EDM ACCURACY

• . Speed and precision are controlled by managing cutting

parameters – power and frequency – and controlling the
rate of fluid flushing. Lower power and speed improve
accuracy. This is because flushing moves the wire
slightly, and flushing pressure is higher at higher feed
rates.
EDM ACCURACY

• Tolerances of +/- 0.001” are achievable during a

relatively quick roughing pass. Cutting the power and
reducing flushing pressure for a skim achieves around
+/- 0.0005”. Following up with a second skimming pass
improves the precision of EDM, to around +/- 0.0002”.
WHAT ACCURACY IS NEEDED?

• Wire EDM is capable of very high precision,

even in very hard materials. However, getting
there requires several passes. Many products and
applications don’t need such accuracy, and so
may be machined by EDM in much less time.
THANK YOU
Electrical Discharge Machining
Topic: Tool Electrode and Die
Electric Fluids
Let us know first:

Electrical Discharge Machining is a metal

fabrication process whereby a desired shape is
obtained by using electrical discharges (sparks).
 Tool Electrode:

One of the electrodes is called the tool-

electrode, or simply the tool or
electrode while the other is called the
workpiece-electrode, or work piece, it is a
conductor used to establish electrical
contact with a nonmetallic part of a
circuit.
“ When the voltage between the two
electrodes is increased, the intensity of the
electric field in the volume between the
electrodes becomes greater, causing dielectric
break down of the liquid, and produces an
electric arc.
 Die Electric Fluid:
- It isolates the tool - It also cools down the
electrode from the heated surfaces of the
workpiece electrode to electrodes and exerts a
achieve a high current counter pressure to the
density in the plasma expanding plasma channel.
channel.
Properties of Die electric fluids:

01 02 03 04
Viscosity Dielectric Cooling Chemical
Strength Capability Composition
s
 Types of
dielectric
fluids:

• Deionized • Dielectric
water oil

Dielectric oil
Deionized water Due to the high dielectric
The dielectric fluid, or strength, dielectric oil can
coolant, used in the be used for high discharge
wire electrical energies with small
discharge machining working gaps applied for
(EDM) process, is micro-die sinking
deionized water. operations.
 Type of Hydrocarbon
Deionized Water
Dielectric Fluid Dielectric Fluids

High material removal rate,

High material removal
Technological behavior small tool wear, big
rate, high surface quality,
influence on peripheral zone
high wear
Properties No corrosion of workpiece,
Not flammable, no
no deionization necessary,
hazardous vapors, no
special disposal, low flash
special disposal, corrosion
point, hazardous vapors
Micro-wire electrical
Application Micro-die sinking
discharge machining
THANK YOU!
 Effects of Electrical
Discharge Machining
(EDM)
Electrical Discharge Machining
• Electrical discharge machining is a highly precise
manufacturing process that uses electricity to remove
materials from the workpiece instead of a cutting tool.
EFFECTS OF ELECTRICAL DISCHARGE
MACHINING (EDM)
 1. The surface of the EDMed workpiece is
deformed due to high temperature, melting, or
vaporization.
2. Surface damages like
cracks, voids, and other
defects appear easily.
3. The recast layer also called the
white layer may be deleterious to
the mechanical properties of the
workpiece
4.The imperfections, such as
globules, microcracks, voids,
and craters, generally
increased with an increasing
value of current.
END OF REPORTING
THANK YOU!